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How many of these are religious in nature? I'm just sayin'. . .

Survey Finds Teenagers Ignorant on Basic History and Literature Questions - New York Times

Survey Finds Teenagers Ignorant on Basic History and Literature Questions - New York Times

Along the same lines as my post last week on the willful ignorance of the American population, comes this story from the New York Times, which indicates that

Fewer than half of American teenagers who were asked basic history and literature questions in a phone survey knew when the Civil War was fought, and one in four said Columbus sailed to the New World some time after 1750, not in 1492.

The survey results, released on Tuesday, demonstrate that a significant proportion of teenagers live in “stunning ignorance” of history and literature, said the group that commissioned it, Common Core.

Then, Friendly Atheist ran this story about the frustration an assistant English professor faces as the essay assignment he hands out inevitably is returned by students who read Jesus into everything (but specifically literature of the Romantic Period).

Three papers in a row this evening found references to poets' beliefs that were both counter to all evidence in their biographies, to what was discussed in class, and which are completely ahistorical: the kind of personal teddy-bear god that has inf(l)ected a lot of popular American religious discourse--especially for teens. I learned that when Wordsworth speaks about nature in Tintern Abbey, he really means "Jesus," that the Tyger solves the problem of evil because it shows us that all of creation is part of God's Work, God's Plan and God's Love. The third paper references the author's desire to find "the presence of God in Blake's writing," but then finally acknowledges that this isn't an appropriate strategy. I'm not entirely sure why the author felt the need to signpost a rejected interpretive strategy, but I wish more students understood this.

I understand that many students with an evangelical upbringing will naturally transpose the ineffable and infinite of the sublime into the vocabulary of "my god is an awesome god," and I tend to understand this issue a bit more, often with a simple comment like "take care not to transpose your 21st century beliefs onto 200-year-old texts." But the papers where students spend the whole essay arguing that a poem about nature is really about Jesus? They unnerve me.

Are they witnessing to me? Do they believe that they are taking a stand? Are they so deeply immersed in a kind of totalizing theology that they can imagine no other way through which to view experience?

Are you seeing the trend yet?? As to the last question posed by Horace (the Assistant Professor of English) I would tend to argue that the students expressing this kind of nonsense are not so much "immersed" in this type of theology as they are bound by it. Like Chinese foot-binding, this restriction of intellectual free thought has weakened and atrophied the students' critical abilities and reasoning. This anti-intellectualism naturally comes from religion, especially the more religion resists empirical evidence. That is, the more they rely upon "God did it" or "Because the Bible says so" as explanations for the voids in their knowledge base, the more those seem like acceptable answers to any question, regardless of whether the answer is "known" by the rest of the world (e.g. evolution).

*sigh*

In a possibly related matter, parents that home-school their children in Nebraska are bitterly opposed to a new state legislative bill that would require their children to pass a test above the 50% percentile. If they fail to pass the exam, the child would be required to attend an accredited school. How very draconian.

I have been thinking quite some time about where the proper limit is between security and liberty. The debate over intelligence gathering by the administrative branch, religion and schools, abortion, taxes, etc... are all, at their root, questions over the proper role of government and the ways in which it is permissible or advisable to interact with the individual. Accountant by Day has a couple of good posts on the issue, here and here. Homeschooling is one of those issues that are tricky to me. On the one hand, they are your children and you ought to be able to raise them with the values you deem appropriate. On the other hand, if those values or teachings are handicapping the child for life in twenty-first century Earth, do you still have the same unfettered right to teach them any damn way you please? Where do you draw the line?

The homeschooling experiment really gained traction with the evangelical Christian community. They thought the schools were too godless, and figured they better take their kids education into their own hands. Fair enough, I'd rather you take your kids out than try to change public schools (back?) into Christian indoctrination camps. But I wonder why they are opposed to having their children meet some kind of minimum standard? I just don't get it. Sorry, off on a tangent there, the amusing thing really is that now there are atheist homeschoolers that are worried about the amount of religion that their kids are still getting in school, or even facing persecution over their atheism. But do you see the contradiction? Christian parents think the schools aren't Christian enough, atheist parents think the schools are too Christian. Could they both be right?

A little slow, just plain dumb, stupid, stupider, and religious

The Dumbing Of America - washingtonpost.com

and

Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Susan Jacoby's The Age of American Unreason is apparently causing quite a stir, already. The New York Times article above was reprinted in my local paper this morning, and I found it quite interesting.

I know that as atheists, we often find ourselves seemingly defending education, science, and logic in a nation that couldn't care less. Or worse, pays them lip-service, all the while insisting that schools would be better or safer if we put prayer back, put god back, and plaster the ten commandments all over. I've noticed this attitude several places lately, usually in response to a school shooting. The most recent place I remember seeing it was over at Friendly atheist, citing this letter to the editor. Narika Kendrick opines (emphasis mine):

Just because you don’t believe in Jesus, who died for your sins and mine, don’t hold it against a politician who has done a heck of a job in the school system just because of your corrupted, immoral, individualistic outlook. By the way, the last time I checked, it’s people like you that cause Columbine or other school shootings to happen because you want prayer, the Ten Commandments, Christians and every other precious good out of the school system. That’s what’s wrong with America today. Be blessed and have a nice life. But leave the morally righteous people alone.

Ignoring the blatant grammatical errors, this attitude encapsulates what Susan Jacoby argues to be a climate of anti-intellectualism and anti-rationalism that holds sway over much of the populace. Atheists reading this will no doubt have their own experiences to bolster that claim. When (not "if") we win debates with the religious, their last line of defense often ends up along the lines of "Atheism is a religion too" or, "I have as much right to my opinion as you do, there's no proof that you're right."

The unique problem facing atheists is not that we lack facts, logic, reason, evidence etc...; clearly we have all of that in spades. The "debate" between belief or atheism has not really significantly changed in hundreds of years. All the arguments have been hashed out, posted on myriad internet sites and available to anyone who's curious. It's not that atheists are unapproachable, so unimaginably evil that we would drink the blood of anyone asking to know more about humanism or free-thought. The problem is that the religious are willfully choosing to ignore evidence contradicting their belief. They are wallowing in their own ignorance. From the Washington Times:

That leads us to the third and final factor behind the new American dumbness: not lack of knowledge per se but arrogance about that lack of knowledge. The problem is not just the things we do not know (consider the one in five American adults who, according to the National Science Foundation, thinks the sun revolves around the Earth); it's the alarming number of Americans who have smugly concluded that they do not need to know such things in the first place. Call this anti-rationalism -- a syndrome that is particularly dangerous to our public institutions and discourse. Not knowing a foreign language or the location of an important country is a manifestation of ignorance; denying that such knowledge matters is pure anti-rationalism. The toxic brew of anti-rationalism and ignorance hurts discussions of U.S. public policy on topics from health care to taxation.

Which is why atheists cannot stand by and leave religion alone. It's not just a difference of opinion, it the difference between truth and lies. And those of you who CHOOSE to believe in lies are trying to hijack the government of this country and force it back into the dark ages!

In the wake of the "New Atheists" and their books, the most common criticism has probably been that they are "elitist" or somehow intellectually snobbish. I fail to see this as a criticism however, and I fully agree with the sentiment. I don't know how much plainer I can say it, but if you believe in something that you don't have good reasons to believe in, expect to get made fun of and demeaned.

All this helps explain the popularity of the New Atheists -- Americans as a whole may not be getting too much religion, but a significant constituency must be getting fed up with being routinely marginalized, ignored and insulted. After all, unbelievers are concentrated at the higher end of the educational scale -- a recent Harris American poll shows that 31 percent of those with postgraduate education do not avow belief in God (compared with only 14 percent of those with a high school education or less). The percentage rises among professors and then again among professors at research universities, reaching 93 percent among members of the National Academy of Sciences. Unbelievers are to be found concentrated among those whose professional lives emphasize science or rationality and who also have developed a relatively high level of confidence in their own intellectual faculties. (from Alternet)

Granted, there's still a stray scientist or two who profess belief, but overall that's quite a statement. Facts, evidence, study, research, a thirst for knowledge all seem to almost inexorably lead to atheism. Repression, denial, anti-rationalism and anti-intellectualism are symptomatic of religion. I rather like Sam Harris' challenge to the religious to name one area in which we used to have a scientific explanation but now we have a generally accepted religious explanation that is better suited to explain the phenomenon.

You never really see things like this from the freethought community. Oops, with the exception of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, that guy is showing up all over!

Atheist sees image of big bang in piece of toast

Atheist Sees Image of Big Bang in Piece of Toast

For Immediate Release: Miracle Toast?

(ACPA-london) Excitement is growing in the Northern England town of Huddlesfield following the news that a local man saw an image of the big-bang in a piece of toast. atheist donald chapman, 36, told local newspaper, "the huddlesfield express" that he was sitting down to eat breakfast when an unusual toast pattern caught his eye.

"i was just about to spread the butter when I noticed a fairly typical small hole in the bread surrounded by a burnt black ring. however the direction and splatter patterns of the crumbs as well as the changing shades emanating outwards from this black hole were very clearly similar to the chaotic-dynamic non-linear patterns that one would expect following the big bang". "it's the beginning of the world" he added excitedly.

Ever since news of the discovery made national headlines, local hoteliers have been overwhelmed by an influx of atheists from all over the country who have flocked to Huddlesfield to catch a glimpse of the scientific relic. "i have always been an Atheist and to see my life choices validated on a piece of toast is truly astounding" said one guest at the Huddlesfield arms hotel.

To the surprise of many, the UK national atheist association has asked its members not to pay attention to the story despite its potential to inspire less faith. "Given what the religious believe already, this is an easy sell" said one disgruntled activist who said he was going to huddlesfield anyway noting that "seeing is not believing".

One fewer god...

I've always liked the atheist argument that everyone is an atheist with respect to most gods throughout human history, we atheists just believe in one fewer. I first saw this at Friendly Atheist, but since then I've Stumbled it a few more times, so I'm doing my part to spread it.

The thing that I especially like is the way this takes the argument out of the abstract and really confronts one with the fact that there are literally thousands of belief systems out there (if not more?). Most have fallen by the wayside, especially with the inexorable march of science as an explanatory force. There are a few pesky followers of various cults (e.g. cargo cults, Christianity, etc...) that refuse to go away in the face of overwhelming evidence disproving their most basic claims. Also, remember that the popularity of a given god has no correlation with the "truth" to be found within that religion/cult.

Christian beliefs vs. atheist beliefs

Gods that Christians don't believe in

Gods that atheists don't believe in

Aesir Agasaya Agdistis Ah chuy kak Ah cun can Ah hulneb Ah puch Ahulane Ahura mazda Aine Airmid Aizen-myoo Aji-suki-taka-hi-kone Akea Alberich Ama-no-minaka-nushi Ama-tsu-mara Amaethon Amaterasu Amatsu Amatsu-kami Ame-no-mi-kumari Ame-no-wakahiko Amidaam-no-tanabata-hime An Anahita Anat Anath Andhrimnir Andraste Andvari Angrboda Angus og Ankt Annapurna Anouke Anshar Anu Aphrodite Apollo Apsu Apukohai Arawn Aray Ares Arianrhod Artemis Artio Asclepius Asherah Ashur Astarte Astrild Athena Athirat Athtart Atla Atlas Audhumla Ba'al hadad Baal Baal-hammon Baalat Babd catha Bacchus Badb Baku Balder Balor Balrama Bast Ba xian Beg-tse Bel Belatu-cadros Bellona Belobog Benten Benzai-ten Bergelmir Berstuk Bes Beyla Bhuvaneshwari Bimbogami Binzuru-sonja Bishamon Bixia yuanjin Blodeuwedd Borghild Bosatsu Bragi Brahma Bran Branwen Brighid Brigit Bris Brono Buddha Bugid y aiba Buluc chabtan Burijas Butsu Bylgia Camalus Camaxtli Camulus Cariocienus Caswallawn Ceres Ceridwen Cernunnos Cerridwen Cerunnos Chac Chalchiuhtlicue Charun Chemosh Cheng-huang Chien-shin Chimata-no-kami Chup-kamui Crnobog Cupid Cybele Cyhiraeth Dagda Dagon Dagon Dagur Daibosatsu Daikoku Dainichi Damkina Danu Davlin Dawn Dazbog Demeter Dev Dewi Dhanwantari Dhumavati Diana Diancecht Di cang Dionysus Disen Don Donar Dosojin Dozoku-shin Druantia Durga Dylan Dziewona Ea Ebisu Eir Ekchuah Ekibiogami El Elaine El elyon Elli Emma-o Enki Enlil Enyalius Enyo Eos Epona Ereskigal Erra Eshara Eshmun Farbauti Faunus Fenrir Flidais Flins Flora Forseti Freya Freyr Frigg Fudo Fujin Fukurokuju Funadama Futsu-nushi-no-kami Gaia Gama Ganesha Ganga Garuda Gauri Geb Gefion Gekka-o Geong si Gerd Giobhniu Gu Guan-di Gun Gwydion Gwynn ap nudd Hachiman Hades Hadur Hai Haniyasu-hiko Haniyasu-hime Hanuman Hathor Haulili Haya-ji Heimdall Hel Helios Heng-o Hephaestus Hera Hermes Hermod Hestia Hiaka Hiiakawawahilani Hinakuluiau Hiruko Hod Hoderi Holler Hoori Hors Horus Hoso-no-kami Hotei Hsi-wang-mu Huitzilopochtli Hygeia Ictinike Ida-ten Idun Ika-zuchi-no-kami Iki-ryo Inanna Inari Indra Inti Irmin Ishtar Isis Isora Ixtab Izanagi Izanaki Izanami Janus Jarilo Jarovit Jinushigami Jizo Jord Jormungand Juichimen Juno Jupiter Jurojin Juthrbog Juturna Kagutsuchi Kalaipahoa Kali Kaluannuunohonionio Kamado-gami Kamapua'a Kami-kaze Kaminari Kamohoali'i Kamooalii Kanaloa Kanayama-hiko Kanayama-hime Kane Kane-hekili Kapo Kapohoikahiola Karewit Kari Kartikeya Karttikeya Kathirat Kaupe Kawa-no-kami Kenro-ji-jin Keoahikamakaua Keuakepo Khepri Ki Kiha Kingu Kinich ahau Kishar Kishi-bojin Kishijoten Kishimo-jin Ko-no-hana Kojin Koleamoku Korrawi Koshin Kothar Koya-no-myoin Krishna Ku Kuahana Kukailimoku Kukaoo Kukulcan Kukunochi-no-kami Kuni-toko-tachi Kura-okami Kurma Kuula Kvasir Laamaomao Labraid Lada Lado Laga Laka Lakakane Lakshmi Laran Lares Libintia Lie Liza Llyr Lofn Loki Lono Lonomakua Lotan Lugh Luna Macha Maeve Magna mater Magni Mahulu Maia Manannan Mani Manua Marduk Margawse Marisha-ten Marowit Mars Maru Marzanna Matangi Math ap mathowny Matka gabia Matka ziemia Maui Mawaya-no-kami Maya Mebd Medb Melqart Menhit Menthu Mentu Mercury Mextli Mider Mikaboshi Milu Miming Mimir Minerva Miro Mithras Mixcoatl Miyazu-hime Moaalii Modi Mokosh Mokualii Moloch Monju-bosatsu Mooaleo Morrigan Mot Mummu Murukan Musubi-no-kami Myrrdin Nacon Nai-no-kami Naka-yama-tsu-mi Nammu Nanaja Nanna Nanse Neith Nemain Nemesis Nephthys Neptune Nergal Niamh Nikko-bosatsu Ninazu Ninhurzag Ninigi-no-mikoto Nintu Ninurta Njord Nominosukune Norns Nott Nut Nyorai Oanomochi Odin Ogoun Ohkuninushi Oho-yama Ohonamochi Ohyamatsumi Okuni-nushi Ops Orgelmir Oro Osiris Ostara Ouli Owatatsumi Oyamatsumi Pales Pan Papa Parvati Pele Perperuna Persephone Perun Phaethon Phoebe Phoebus apollo Pilumnus Pluto Podaga Poliahu Pomona Porewit Poseidon Proserpine Puea Qadeshtu Quetzalcoatl Radegast Raiden Ram Rama Ran Re Resef Reshep Resheph Rhea Rod Rugiviet Ryo-wo Sabazius Sae-no-kami Saga Sakhmet Sambo-kojin Samulayo Sarasvati Sarutahiko ohkami Saturn Segomo Selene Sengen Septu Seshat Seth Seti Shachar Shaka Shakti Shalim Shamash Shamayim Shapsu Shemesh Shen yi Shichi fujukin Shinda Shine-tsu-hiko Shiva Shoden Shoki Shu Si-wang-mu Siebog Sif Simargl Sin Sirona Sita Siwa Sjofn Skadi Sleipnir Sol Stribog Suijin Suitengu Sukuna-biko Surya Susanoh Susanowa Svantetit Svarog Svetovid Svetovit Syn Takami-musubi Takemikadzuchi Taki-tsu-hiko Tatsuta-hime Tawaret Tefnut Tehwom Tenjin Teutates Tezcatlipoca Thanatos The zorya Thor Tiamat Tlaloc Tonatiuh Toyo-uke-bime Toyouke-omikami Triglav Tsuki-yumi Tu Tu matauenga Turris Tyche Tyr Uba Uga-jin Uga-no-mitama Ukanipo Ukemochi Ulaulekeahi Uli Ull Utu Uzume Vali Valkyries Vamana Vanir Var Veles Venus Vertumnus Vesta Vidar Vishnu Volturnus Vulcan Wakahiru-me Wata-tsu-mi Wepwawet Wurukatte Xipe Xi wang-mu Xochipilli Xochiquetzal Yabune Yam Yam-nahar Yama-no-kami Yamato Yarikh Ymir Yu-huang Yuki-onna Yum kimil Zababa Zana Zedek Zeus Zirnitra Zislbog Zizilia Zroya

Aesir Agasaya Agdistis Ah chuy kak Ah cun can Ah hulneb Ah puch Ahulane Ahura mazda Aine Airmid Aizen-myoo Aji-suki-taka-hi-kone Akea Alberich Ama-no-minaka-nushi Ama-tsu-mara Amaethon Amaterasu Amatsu Amatsu-kami Ame-no-mi-kumari Ame-no-wakahiko Amidaam-no-tanabata-hime An Anahita Anat Anath Andhrimnir Andraste Andvari Angrboda Angus og Ankt Annapurna Anouke Anshar Anu Aphrodite Apollo Apsu Apukohai Arawn Aray Ares Arianrhod Artemis Artio Asclepius Asherah Ashur Astarte Astrild Athena Athirat Athtart Atla Atlas Audhumla Ba'al hadad Baal Baal-hammon Baalat Babd catha Bacchus Badb Baku Balder Balor Balrama Bast Ba xian Beg-tse Bel Belatu-cadros Bellona Belobog Benten Benzai-ten Bergelmir Berstuk Bes Beyla Bhuvaneshwari Bimbogami Binzuru-sonja Bishamon Bixia yuanjin Blodeuwedd Borghild Bosatsu Bragi Brahma Bran Branwen Brighid Brigit Bris Brono Buddha Bugid y aiba Buluc chabtan Burijas Butsu Bylgia Camalus Camaxtli Camulus Cariocienus Caswallawn Ceres Ceridwen Cernunnos Cerridwen Cerunnos Chac Chalchiuhtlicue Charun Chemosh Cheng-huang Chien-shin Chimata-no-kami Chup-kamui Crnobog Cupid Cybele Cyhiraeth Dagda Dagon Dagon Dagur Daibosatsu Daikoku Dainichi Damkina Danu Davlin Dawn Dazbog Demeter Dev Dewi Dhanwantari Dhumavati Diana Diancecht Di cang Dionysus Disen Don Donar Dosojin Dozoku-shin Druantia Durga Dylan Dziewona Ea Ebisu Eir Ekchuah Ekibiogami El Elaine El elyon Elli Emma-o Enki Enlil Enyalius Enyo Eos Epona Ereskigal Erra Eshara Eshmun Farbauti Faunus Fenrir Flidais Flins Flora Forseti Freya Freyr Frigg Fudo Fujin Fukurokuju Funadama Futsu-nushi-no-kami Gaia Gama Ganesha Ganga Garuda Gauri Geb Gefion Gekka-o Geong si Gerd Giobhniu Gu Guan-di Gun Gwydion Gwynn ap nudd Hachiman Hades Hadur Hai Haniyasu-hiko Haniyasu-hime Hanuman Hathor Haulili Haya-ji Heimdall Hel Helios Heng-o Hephaestus Hera Hermes Hermod Hestia Hiaka Hiiakawawahilani Hinakuluiau Hiruko Hod Hoderi Holler Hoori Hors Horus Hoso-no-kami Hotei Hsi-wang-mu Huitzilopochtli Hygeia Ictinike Ida-ten Idun Ika-zuchi-no-kami Iki-ryo Inanna Inari Indra Inti Irmin Ishtar Isis Isora Ixtab Izanagi Izanaki Izanami Janus Jarilo Jarovit Jinushigami Jizo Jord Jormungand Juichimen Juno Jupiter Jurojin Juthrbog Juturna Kagutsuchi Kalaipahoa Kali Kaluannuunohonionio Kamado-gami Kamapua'a Kami-kaze Kaminari Kamohoali'i Kamooalii Kanaloa Kanayama-hiko Kanayama-hime Kane Kane-hekili Kapo Kapohoikahiola Karewit Kari Kartikeya Karttikeya Kathirat Kaupe Kawa-no-kami Kenro-ji-jin Keoahikamakaua Keuakepo Khepri Ki Kiha Kingu Kinich ahau Kishar Kishi-bojin Kishijoten Kishimo-jin Ko-no-hana Kojin Koleamoku Korrawi Koshin Kothar Koya-no-myoin Krishna Ku Kuahana Kukailimoku Kukaoo Kukulcan Kukunochi-no-kami Kuni-toko-tachi Kura-okami Kurma Kuula Kvasir Laamaomao Labraid Lada Lado Laga Laka Lakakane Lakshmi Laran Lares Libintia Lie Liza Llyr Lofn Loki Lono Lonomakua Lotan Lugh Luna Macha Maeve Magna mater Magni Mahulu Maia Manannan Mani Manua Marduk Margawse Marisha-ten Marowit Mars Maru Marzanna Matangi Math ap mathowny Matka gabia Matka ziemia Maui Mawaya-no-kami Maya Mebd Medb Melqart Menhit Menthu Mentu Mercury Mextli Mider Mikaboshi Milu Miming Mimir Minerva Miro Mithras Mixcoatl Miyazu-hime Moaalii Modi Mokosh Mokualii Moloch Monju-bosatsu Mooaleo Morrigan Mot Mummu Murukan Musubi-no-kami Myrrdin Nacon Nai-no-kami Naka-yama-tsu-mi Nammu Nanaja Nanna Nanse Neith Nemain Nemesis Nephthys Neptune Nergal Niamh Nikko-bosatsu Ninazu Ninhurzag Ninigi-no-mikoto Nintu Ninurta Njord Nominosukune Norns Nott Nut Nyorai Oanomochi Odin Ogoun Ohkuninushi Oho-yama Ohonamochi Ohyamatsumi Okuni-nushi Ops Orgelmir Oro Osiris Ostara Ouli Owatatsumi Oyamatsumi Pales Pan Papa Parvati Pele Perperuna Persephone Perun Phaethon Phoebe Phoebus apollo Pilumnus Pluto Podaga Poliahu Pomona Porewit Poseidon Proserpine Puea Qadeshtu Quetzalcoatl Radegast Raiden Ram Rama Ran Re Resef Reshep Resheph Rhea Rod Rugiviet Ryo-wo Sabazius Sae-no-kami Saga Sakhmet Sambo-kojin Samulayo Sarasvati Sarutahiko ohkami Saturn Segomo Selene Sengen Septu Seshat Seth Seti Shachar Shaka Shakti Shalim Shamash Shamayim Shapsu Shemesh Shen yi Shichi fujukin Shinda Shine-tsu-hiko Shiva Shoden Shoki Shu Si-wang-mu Siebog Sif Simargl Sin Sirona Sita Siwa Sjofn Skadi Sleipnir Sol Stribog Suijin Suitengu Sukuna-biko Surya Susanoh Susanowa Svantetit Svarog Svetovid Svetovit Syn Takami-musubi Takemikadzuchi Taki-tsu-hiko Tatsuta-hime Tawaret Tefnut Tehwom Tenjin Teutates Tezcatlipoca Thanatos The zorya Thor Tiamat Tlaloc Tonatiuh Toyo-uke-bime Toyouke-omikami Triglav Tsuki-yumi Tu Tu matauenga Turris Tyche Tyr Uba Uga-jin Uga-no-mitama Ukanipo Ukemochi Ulaulekeahi Uli Ull Utu Uzume Vali Valkyries Vamana Vanir Var Veles Venus Vertumnus Vesta Vidar Vishnu Volturnus Vulcan Wakahiru-me Wata-tsu-mi Wepwawet Wurukatte Xipe Xi wang-mu Xochipilli Xochiquetzal Yabune Yam Yam-nahar Yama-no-kami Yamato Yarikh Ymir Yu-huang Yuki-onna Yum kimil Zababa Zana Zedek Zeus Zirnitra Zislbog Zizilia Zroya Yahweh

Mormons Dismayed by Harsh Spotlight - WSJ.com

Mormons Dismayed by Harsh Spotlight - WSJ.com

This whole presidential campaign has been especially interesting to me, as a former (recovering?) Mormon. To see the way Mormons are portrayed in the media, to read the commentary from other religious and secular sources, and to consider my own thoughts and feelings has been a unique experience for me.

As a child and adolescent, I remember being taught in church the standard "party line" for questions like "are Mormons Christian?", "does your dad have lots of wives", etc.... At the time, I thought that the way we were perceived by mainstream Christians was silly-- after all, shouldn't we as Mormons have the right to self-identify as Christians? Doesn't professing belief in the divinity of Christ count? If the church outlawed polygamy a hundred years ago, why are we still getting this question? We were taught, both implicitly and explicitly, that the reason for these questions was essentially jealousy or other latent ill will because we were the "one true religion". All of these false churches were banding together against us because we had the revealed truth! It was so obvious!

Once in college, I devoured philosophy courses. I realized that the doubts that I had were not unique to me, that there was nothing wrong with pursuing metaphysical questions. When you're a Mormon, questioning is mildly discouraged. Questioning too much might lead you to false prophets, away from the truth. That mindset never really sat quite right with me, but I was always told to pray about it, listen for a "still, small voice" that would tell me God's will. Mormons place a great deal of emphasis on the concept that prophecy is not dead, that God personally, literally, speaks. Only, I never heard anything. I assumed that I was unworthy, that the very existence of my doubts had blocked me from being receptive to the voice of God. It wasn't until I started reading more of the philosophy of religion that I realized it was both normal and healthy to question the existence of god. Atheism was a viable alternative. Not only viable, it was the only option that made sense to me. The thing that I loved about philosophy was that nobody was telling me the answers. There were no "answers". There was a process of thought. Nobody was promoting atheism, or theism, or one religion over another; there was only an insistence that you had to have good reasons for whatever you believed. Your beliefs had to have intellectual consistency.

For me, there was no turning back. I tasted freedom, and reason was my new standard. It still is.

It wasn't until this year that I started thinking again about the issues that Mormonism raises, due primarily to Mitt Romney's campaign. Only now, I got to see the commentary from the outside, as a non-Mormon. What a difference! Then I read the front page article- above the fold no less- from today's Wall Street Journal. What a perfect catalyst for this post, which I had been considering writing for some time. Most Christians today seem to have a bit of a persecution complex (see also Bill Donohue), but Mormons have it worse than most. They've still got it in the back of their mind that the founder of their church was martyred and they were forced to flee to Utah in search of religious freedom (read: polygamy). Add to this the conviction that they are the "peculiar people" and that Satan is actively trying to keep people from their religion because of its truth, and one develops quite a heady mix of persecution complex.

In spite of this, there was always the sentiment within the church that they were making headway. The church was growing rapidly, both home and abroad, which only fed the conviction that people were finding the truth irresistable. That's the context behind the article in the Wall Street Journal- that's why Mormons are so surprised now to find that people still don't like them. *gasp* Mormon beliefs are still mistrusted within and without Christianity, and rightly so.

Mr. Romney's candidacy revived old lines of attack and mockery of some of the church's unusual practices, such as secret ceremonies, the wearing of special undergarments, and the baptizing the dead in the belief that it will help them join family members in heaven.

The only thing that I don't understand is why Mormon beliefs are ridiculed within Christianity, but Christian beliefs are not held up to the same level of ridicule in society at large.

I apologize, but I can't remember the radio show I was listening to, but the host had a brilliant bit of satire. It was several weeks ago, and he was trying to argue that the religion of a candidate ought not be a part of the equation for determining who you are going to vote for. He was deadpanning that "yes, those Mormons are so ridiculous for believing that an angel came to Earth with golden plates, revealing a new religion. All good Christians know that it really happened when a new star appeared in the sky and a virgin gave birth to the literal son of god. All good Christians know that they literally are eating the flesh and drinking the blood of this god-man when they take communion. They know that the universe was created in six days, and two of every animal in the world rode on a boat at the same time. And of course, all good Muslims know about the 72 virgins awaiting martyrs..." Again, I can't remember the exact source, but if someone remembers, please post it in the comments.

None of these beliefs make any damn sense given what a rational person can observe about the world around them. This is what I came to realize about all religions. The more I thought about them, the less sense they made. Once I stopped accepting the dogma I was fed, the scales fell from my eyes and I was able to think. This is why I make fun of you if you believe in unbelievable things. This is why I occasionally toy with the thought of moving to northern Europe, where things are a little more sane. This is why I'm outraged when you say you want to put prayer back in the schools, or change the constitution, or limit stem cell research, or any of thousands of things that you do that hurt other people or take away their rights without any good reason. This is why I'm an atheist.

Omaha.com Metro/Region Section

Omaha says "no" to Madalyn Murray O'Hair Street

Anyone who thought it would go another way was, of course, crazy. By the way, here's the area that was at stake for a "commemorative" street naming:


View Larger Map



Not exactly asking for an empire, was he?

Councilman Garry Gernandt said after the meeting that he was contacted by close to 200 constituents concerning the Murray O’Hair sign, and not a single one was in support.

“They said we should keep religious and state issues separate,” Gernandt said.

I promise you that was the first time any of those 200 people had said anything close to "we should keep religious and state issues separate". Those are the same people who wrote letters to the editor bemoaning the lack of prayer in school and seeing this as another attempt of the godless majority (insert laugh here) to suppress the rights of good Christians. Do I get credit for being a prophet now? Here's what I said this morning:

Luckily, the city council meets today and will swiftly vote down this attempt to create a godless democracy where a theocracy ought to be. HA!

Firestorm begins over Omaha street sign

I told you it would happen. The furor has begun to kick up in Omaha over the dastardly plan to prove to Christians that they are second-rate citizens by placing a commemorative street sign on a small portion of a minor street. Here's the clipping from this morning's Omaha World Herald.

Billy Graham? Seriously? Mother Theresa? And what first amendment rights of Christians have been violated? Last time I checked, it was the atheists that were worried about our Constitutional rights! People throw around the term "First Amendment rights" a little cavalierly, I don't think that a lot of them actually know what the first amendment is. This is what most people think the first amendment says:

I can do or say whatever I want. Those who disagree with me are attempting to violate my rights and are attacking me personally, as well as all that I hold dear. Any attempt to have a rational debate should be met with extreme hyperbole, or possibly violence.

--Signed, "The Founders"
P.S. We were all Christian and meant for this country to stay Christian for ever and ever, k thx.

This is what the first amendment actually says:

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I know it's subtle, but do you see the differences there?

The second guy may be even dumber than the first. Sure, we're not sweeping the nation, but we're not a "microscopic" minority! Wikipedia indicates that "most studies indicate that the non-religious make up about 12-15% of the world's population". And I thought muslin was a fabric, not a religion?

Luckily, the city council meets today and will swiftly vote down this attempt to create a godless democracy where a theocracy ought to be. HA!

Omaha street sign to honor famous atheist?

Omaha.com Metro/Region Section

Hemant at Friendly Atheist beat me to it, but it's in my local paper :) Tilting at windmills? Probably, especially here in the conservative (read: Christian monopoly) midwest.

However, I was astounded to hear Councilman Chuck Siegerson say, "We have to be careful when it comes to something like this," he said. "We try to keep religion out of it."

Wow, how very enlightened of you, Councilman. It makes me wonder though, if a lowly city councilman from the pseudo-metropolis of Omaha argues that religion shouldn't have a place in naming streets, why do we have presidential candidates that think it ought to have a place in the constitution?

EDIT: You can't tell from the website, but this was front page news, albeit below-the-fold. I can't wait for the firestorm to hit the letters to the editor page, which is called "The Public Pulse", but should be known as "Barely a Pulse" for all the intellectual honesty involved. It's too bad they don't make these letters available online, as I've also commented on them here and here.

Sam Harris astounds me again!

I'm reposting this in its entirety from The Edge's annual question: "What have you changed your mind about?" I know I'm a bit late to this party, but I had a great deal of thinking to do before I knew where I stood. At first, when I read Sam's response, I was shocked, disagreeing completely. But then again, I thought that way at first about his characterization of moderate Christians. Essentially, he argues that moderate Christians

"by their lingering attachment to the unique divinity of Jesus, protect the faith of fundamentalists from public scorn. Christian liberals — who aren't sure what they believe but just love the experience of going to church occasionally — deny the moderates a proper collision with scientific rationality. And in this way centuries have come and gone without an honest word being spoken about God in our society."

EDIT: After I posted this, I read an amazing post at Apostate's Chapel that you should all read about why atheists refuse to leave religion alone.

However, the more I think and reflect on Sam's ideas, the more convincing I find them. I was automatically reacting against them because they are so radically different from conventional wisdom, or at least conventional sensibilities. The concept he expresses below, that "Mother Nature is Not Our Friend" is terribly important to understand. I had been disgusted with the attitude of arrogance and entitlement that seems to come with the differing strains of religion, without realizing that my own eye held a similar beam: the assumption that "natural" is the same thing as "the best". Now that we have developed the tools to shape our own genetic and physiological destiny (no thanks to those who attempt to quash science in the name of religion, or more vaguely, "ethics"). The question is no longer, "should we?" but "why shouldn't we?" By challenging the base assumption that nature wants humans to survive, or that we have some special place in the cosmos, Sam forces us to rethink all our assumptions about gene therapy, cloning, stem cell research, climate change, and the ethical issues surround them. Enjoy:


SAM HARRIS
Neuroscience Researcher; Author, Letter to a Christian Nation

Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Like many people, I once trusted in the wisdom of Nature. I imagined that there were real boundaries between the natural and the artificial, between one species and another, and thought that, with the advent of genetic engineering, we would be tinkering with life at our peril. I now believe that this romantic view of Nature is a stultifying and dangerous mythology.

Every 100 million years or so, an asteroid or comet the size of a mountain smashes into the earth, killing nearly everything that lives. If ever we needed proof of Nature's indifference to the welfare of complex organisms such as ourselves, there it is. The history of life on this planet has been one of merciless destruction and blind, lurching renewal.

The fossil record suggests that individual species survive, on average, between one and ten million years. The concept of a "species" is misleading, however, and it tempts us to think that we, as homo sapiens, have arrived at some well-defined position in the natural order. The term "species" merely designates a population of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring; it cannot be aptly applied to the boundaries between species (to what are often called "intermediate" or "transitional" forms). There was, for instance, no first member of the human species, and there are no canonical members now. Life is a continuous flux. Our nonhuman ancestors bred, generation after generation, and incrementally begat what we now deem to be the species homo sapiens — ourselves. There is nothing about our ancestral line or about our current biology that dictates how we will evolve in the future. Nothing in the natural order demands that our descendants resemble us in any particular way. Very likely, they will not resemble us. We will almost certainly transform ourselves, likely beyond recognition, in the generations to come.

Will this be a good thing? The question presupposes that we have a viable alternative. But what is the alternative to our taking charge of our biological destiny? Might we be better off just leaving things to the wisdom of Nature? I once believed this. But we know that Nature has no concern for individuals or for species. Those that survive do so despite Her indifference. While the process of natural selection has sculpted our genome to its present state, it has not acted to maximize human happiness; nor has it necessarily conferred any advantage upon us beyond the capacity raise the next generation to child-bearing age. In fact, there may be nothing about human life after the age of forty (the average lifespan until the 20th century) that has been selected by evolution at all. And with a few exceptions (e.g. the gene for lactose tolerance), we probably haven't adapted to our environment much since the Pleistocene.

But our environment and our needs — to say nothing of our desires — have changed radically in the meantime. We are in many respects ill-suited to the task of building a global civilization. This is not a surprise. From the point of view of evolution, much of human culture, along with its cognitive and emotional underpinnings, must be epiphenomenal. Nature cannot "see" most of what we are doing, or hope to do, and has done nothing to prepare us for many of the challenges we now face.

These concerns cannot be waved aside with adages like, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." There are innumerable perspectives from which our current state of functioning can be aptly described as "broke." Speaking personally, it seems to me that everything I do picks out some point on a spectrum of disability: I was always decent at math, for instance, but this is simply to say that I am like a great mathematician who has been gored in the head by a bull; my musical ability resembles that of a Mozart or a Bach, it is true, though after a near fatal incident on skis; if Tiger Woods awoke from surgery to find that he now possessed (or was possessed by) my golf-swing, rest assured that a crushing lawsuit for medical malpractice would be in the offing.

Considering humanity as a whole, there is nothing about natural selection that suggests our optimal design. We are probably not even optimized for the Paleolithic, much less for life in the 21st century. And yet, we are now acquiring the tools that will enable us to attempt our own optimization. Many people think this project is fraught with risk. But is it riskier than doing nothing? There may be current threats to civilization that we cannot even perceive, much less resolve, at our current level of intelligence. Could any rational strategy be more dangerous than following the whims of Nature? This is not to say that our growing capacity to meddle with the human genome couldn't present some moments of Faustian over-reach. But our fears on this front must be tempered by a sober understanding of how we got here. Mother Nature is not now, nor has she ever been, looking out for us.

Mr. Gruff sez. . .

I've seen this a couple of times. Sorry, I don't know who to attribute it to at this point, but it makes me chuckle every time so I'm reposting it here for your pleasure.

The need for atheist spirituality...

Vjack has a great post over at Atheist Revolution about the application of "spirituality" to atheist thought. As I mentioned in the comments section, Sam Harris makes no bones about the spirituality he has experienced, and the fact the he continues to seek those experiences through contemplative processes like meditation. Presumably, a portion of his motivation in the area is his work as a neuroscientist and a desire to understand the neurological or neurochemical basis for these types of transcendent experiences.

To me, I find it interesting that religious folk often tend to use these types of experiences as "proof" that their mode of belief is correct. And, it's an easy misinterpretation to make, especially when caught up in the euphoria that may come along with these experiences. But, the fact that many cultures throughout history have produced these experiences, with or without a religious component ought to serve as proof of the opposite: our brains are wired to accept these types of input and translate them as awe-inspiring, transcendent, and special.

Conversely, many atheists appear to place little value in this type of experience. We can get so caught up in promoting rationality above all else that we may forget the sense of wonder and mysticism that is inherent (at least to me) in nature. It seems to me that these peak experiences are a wonderful part of the human condition. Different people will seek out these experiences to different degrees, but I think we ought to be open to this type of wonder, so long as we don't read too much into them. That is, they are not proof for god's existence, let alone proof that your specific god cares for you personally & individually.

Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted): Top Fifty Atheist T-Shirt and Bumper Sticker Aphorisms

Thanks to Dangerous Intersection for the tip-off on this:

Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted): Top Fifty Atheist T-Shirt and Bumper Sticker Aphorisms

Top Fifty Atheist T-Shirt and Bumper Sticker Aphorisms

1. Abstinence Makes the Church Grow Fondlers


2. Honk If Your Religious Beliefs Make You An Asshole


3. Intelligent Design Makes My Monkey Cry


4. Too Stupid to Understand Science? Try Religion.


5. There's A REASON Why Atheists Don't Fly Planes Into Buildings


6. "Worship Me or I Will Torture You Forever. Have a Nice Day."­ God.


7. God Doesn't Kill People. People Who Believe in God Kill People.


8. If There is No God, Then What Makes the Next Kleenex Pop Up?


9. He's Dead.
   It's Been 2,000 years.
   He's Not Coming Back.
   Get OVER It Already!


10. All religion is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry. Edgar Allen Poe.


11. Viva La Evolución!


12. Actually, If You Look It Up, The Winter Solstice Is The Reason For The Season


13. I Wouldn't Trust Your God Even If He Did Exist


14. Cheeses Is Lard. Argue With THAT If You Can.


15. People Who Don't Want Their Beliefs Laughed at Shouldn't Have Such Funny Beliefs


16. Jesus is Coming? Don't Swallow That.


17. Threatening Children With Hell Is FUN!


18. GOD - APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD!


19. Jesus Told Me Republicans SUCK


20. God + Whacky Tobacky = Platypus


21. God Doesn't Exist. So, I Guess That Means No One Loves You.


22. When the Rapture Comes, We'll Get Our Country Back!


23. Q. How Do We Know the Holy Ghost Was Catholic?
    A. He Used the Rhythm Method Instead of a Condom.


24. You Say "Heretic" Like It Was a BAD Thing


25. I Love Christians. They Taste Like Chicken.


26. Science: It Works, Bitches.


27. "Intelligent Design" Helping Stupid People Feel Smart Since 1987


28. I Found God Between The Sheets


29. I Gave Up Superstitious Mumbo Jumbo For Lent


30. My Flying Monkey Can Beat Up Your Guardian Angel


31. Every Time You Play With Yourself, God Kills a Kitten


32. If God Wanted People to Believe in Him, Then Why Did He Invent Logic?


33. Praying Is Politically Correct Schizophrenia


34. ALL Americans Are African Americans


35. I Forget - Which Day Did God Make All The Fossils?


36. I Was An Atheist Until The Hindus Convinced Me That I Was God


37. The Spanish Inquisition: The Original Faith-based Initiative


38. If we were made in his image, when why aren't humans invisible too?


39. JESUS SAVES....You From Thinking For Yourself


40. How Can You Disbelieve in Evolution If You Can't Even Define It?


41. Q. How Can You Tell That Your God is Man-made?
    A. If He Hates All the Same People You Do.


42. Every Time You See a Rainbow, God is Having Gay Sex


43. I Went to Public School in Kansas and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt and a Poor Understanding of the Scientific Method.


44. WWJD = We Won. Jesus Died.


45. The Family That Prays Together is Brainwashing the Children


46. Oh, Look, Honey Another Pro-lifer For War


47. Another Godless Atheist for Peace and World Harmony


48. God is Unavailable Right Now. Can I Help You?


49. When Lip Service to Some Mysterious Deity Permits Bestiality on
    Wednesday and Absolution on Sundays, Cash Me Out. Frank Sinatra.


50. No Gods. No Mullets.

The Raw Story | Huckabee: Amend Constitution to be in 'God's standards'

I'm sure you've seen this or heard about this by now, but in case you haven't:

The Raw Story | Huckabee: Amend Constitution to be in 'God's standards'

"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution," Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday. "But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view."

Contrast this with the constitution (from http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am1)

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Hear that, Huckleberry!?!?!?!?! That's my constitution that you are threatening! And what parts of God's law do you want to amend the constitution to include? All excerpts below from Evil Bible.

Can we own slaves? Leviticus 25:45 “Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy … and they shall be your possession… they shall be your bondmen forever.” Genesis 9:25 “And he [Noah] said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” Exodus 21:2 & 7 “If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing… And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.” Joel 3:8 “And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it.” Luke 12:47-48 [Jesus speaking] “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.” Colossians 3:22

“Servants, obey in all things your masters.” So obviously the Biblical God thinks slavery is right, right? Just look at these: Isaiah 58:6 “Undo the heavy burdens... let the oppressed go free, ... break every yoke.” Matthew 23:10 “Neither be ye called Masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.” (Also see Exodus 22:21 & 21:16) Let it be known here that pro-slavery Bible verses were cited by many churches in the South during the Civil War, and were used by some theologians in the Dutch Reformed Church to justify apartheid in South Africa. There are more pro-slavery verses than cited here. I simply do not have the room to post all of them.

Should we pray in public? 1 Kings 2:22, 54 & 9:3 shows the Lord is joyed by public prayer and listens intently. Matthew 6:5-6 condemn public prayer and command people keep it a secret.

Should we circumcise males? Genesis 17:10 “This is my covenant which ye shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee: Every man and child among you shall be circumcised. Clearly this demands circumcision, yet Galatians 5:2 says “Behold, I Paul, say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”

Do women have rights? Genesis 3:16 “And thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” 1 Timothy 2:12 says a woman must not teach, remain silent and must be subjugated to her man. 1 Corinthians 14:34 & 1 Peter 3:6 both say that women have limited rights and are under control of their men. Judges 4:4, 14-15, 5:7, Acts 2:18 & 21:9 all tell of powerful women who were not subjugated by men and were not punished for their authority of men.

So, Mr. Huckleberry Hound, which of these bat-shit insane, stupid, ass-backwards, neanderthal ideals should we amend our constitution to include?!?! Or is it just going to be the typical Christian Coalition stuff: banning abortion, eliminating stem cell research, stripping homosexual of any rights, getting rid of that pesky "evolution" in biology classes and so on?

THIS IS WHY ATHEISTS ARE SO FUCKING ANGRY!

Conservatipedia

Hat Tip to Stardust at God is for Suckers for the heads-up.
As if I ever need reminding why I'm an atheist:

Conservatipedia

Sometimes, on a cold winter day, my thoughts turn to dumbasses, and then I'm happy again. There, but for the grace of *reason* (sanity?) go I.

Let's talk about the age of consent. The law should be universal in every state, you must be 18 years of age to have sex. End of story. Liberals are constantly fighting on the side of pedophiles to lower it down. A lot of states have the age of consent at a disgusting 16 years old. Take a look at gay Canada, children as young as 14 can have sex with 40 year old men legally. What is the world coming to?

Hey, believe me, I hate Canada as much as the next guy, but seriously?

And, as a public service, here's a quick list of shows to avoid to keep your 8 year old from turning gay

There is a number of queer shows on television that not only promote the sinful "Gay Culture", but are probably filled with other subliminal messages to promote the homosexual agenda. Here are a list of shows to avoid:

• Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
• Boy Meets Boy
• Queer Eye
• Big Brother
• Survivor
• Family Guy
• The Sarah Silverman Program
• The War at Home
• The Simpsons
• Drawn Together
• Heroes
  
• The Ellen Show
• Dr. Phil
• Oprah
• Will & Grace
• Friends
• Seinfeld

There are many more, but these are the main ones to avoid. Just keep your head up and possibly buy a digital cable box or satellite dish, so you can control the content. Last thing you need is your 8 year old son asking you if his pants look "fabulous".

Family guy AND The Simpsons?!?! *Gasp* But, but... but... I've been watching those for years, and I'm still happily married. I'm not sure how you've been watching all of those shows without a digital cable box or satellite dish, but good to know!

Please, just read this whole post "Atheists Are Out To Get Your Children"


I can only hope it's satire, but I don't hold out a lot of hope.

Sermon Alive

I'm not really sure if this is true or a VERY clever parody. I guess I have to lean towards true. Apparently, the idea is to post a daily devotional or sermon.

Some choice tidbits from Sermon Alive:

Nevermind, I can't pick a few. I'm thinking about skewering the daily devotion on an ongoing basis, but let's just start with today's, OK?

FAITHFULNESS

A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. - Proverbs 28:20

In the Promised Land, we learn that obedience is the only thing that matters. We are called to execute, and leave outcome to God. Sometimes that outcome is very positive, yielding a return. In other cases, we may not yield a corresponding return. We may even get a negative outcome. The difference is that we know that we have been faithful to what God has called us to and we yield results to God. God often blesses obedience beyond what we deserve. If God brings wealth to your life, it should come as a by-product of obedience, not an end in itself.

God may call each of us to be obedient to situations that may not yield immediate, positive results. It is in these times that our faith must be obedience-based versus outcome-based. What if Jesus had considered the immediate ramifications of whether he would go to the cross? Based on the immediate outcome, the decision would have been an easy one. Who wants to die on a cross? However, for Him there was a higher purpose in that obedience. We are called to this same kind of obedience. This means putting our own flesh on the line daily, dying to our own self-will.

This is what it means to be a faithful man. Pray that God will make you a faithful man today.

Question yourself:

• Am I willing to be obedience in any circumstances?
• Why have faith in God’s promises resulting in total obedience irregardless of any circumstances?

So what I'm learning from this is if we work hard at obeying god's will, then sometimes we get stuff and sometimes we don't. However, if we are very lucky we might actually have to put "our own flesh on the line daily". And I just can't get enough of the questions to ask yourself:
"Am I willing to be obedience in any circumstances?"
"Why have faith in God's promises resulting in total obedience irregardless of any circumstances?"

I don't know how to "be obedience." Can someone please diagram the last sentence for me? I know "irregardless" is not a word, but I'm not sure what the subject of the sentence is? I'm going to take a stab at translating the question into one you might be able to read: "Come up with some reasons why you should have blind faith in god and blindly obey his various edicts, even when they contradict each other, despite any and all evidence to the contrary".

Other things that you can learn if you sign up for the daily devotional:

• how to sort out which of the many voices in your head is god's
• "You need more battles that will give you the opportunity to learn the art of spiritual warfare. Do not fear these battles that are before you. God has already given you the victory if you choose complete dependence and obedience to Him. Then you will become one of God’s greatest warriors, skilled in spiritual warfare."

I hear it now.... "ninjas for Christ"

Evolution and the race for President

Reason Magazine has a wonderful new article up by Ronald Bailey about why we should care what the various presidential candidates believe about evolution. He covers what most of the candidates have said about evolution so you can get an idea of who thinks what. He ends the article with this summation for why you should care what the candidates think:

A larger question is whether a candidate's belief about the validity of evolutionary biology has anything to say about his or her ability to evaluate evidence. A January 4, 2008, editorial by Science editor Donald Kennedy correctly argues, "The candidates should be asked hard questions about science policy, including questions about how those positions reflect belief. What is your view about stem cell research, and does it relate to a view of the time at which human life begins? Have you examined the scientific evidence regarding the age of Earth? Can the process of organic evolution lead to the production of new species, and how? Are you able to look at data on past climates in search of inferences about the future of climate change?" Kennedy concludes, "I don't need them to describe their faith; that's their business and not mine. But I do care about their scientific knowledge and how it will inform their leadership."

Since science and technology policy issues are only going to become more important as the 21st century unfolds, we should all care how scientific knowledge informs a president's leadership.

How do you fit this in with your prioritization of which candidate to support? As I argued here, once I find out you are a religious literalist, I can't take you seriously anymore.

Sadly, we do have a need to know as much as we can about the candidate's particular religious beliefs. If you believe that a 2000 year-old Jewish zombie is someday coming back, I want to know that about a candidate before I vote for them. If you believe that 72 virgins await martyrs in some idyllic paradise (although presumably not so idyllic for the virgins), then I have a right to question your basic sanity. All hyperbole aside, I need to know if your particular supernatural beliefs are going to influence your policies.

I was telling my wife the other night that I'm not so concerned about all the minutiae involved in the debate, but it's getting to the point that if you are religious I think that, in many ways, is mutually exclusive with being a reasonable, logical person. If you believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old, we don't have that much more to talk about. We're obviously not going to agree on environmental policy if you think the whole earth was created in 7 days. I can't listen to your position on taxes, or health care, or education, much less your ideas about more religiously charged topics like abortion, gay rights, stem cells, or even foreign policy. We're pretty much done at that point, and I can't take you seriously anymore. Can you see where I'm coming from? The inmates are out of the asylum and are running for president, unfortunately they all have a god-complex.

How do you determine which candidate to support?

In writing this post I started discussing the process of deciding which candidate to support. I posed the question: "How do you decide which candidate merits your support?" I really don't mean it as a trite question, I've put a great deal of thought into it personally.

It used to be an easy decision for me. I used to be a religious Republican, which meant that I made by decision by listening in church for cues as to who everyone else was supporting. Occasionally, this would come from the pulpit, but more often casual discussions with other church members would lead to a kind of informal consensus as to who the 'best' candidate would be.

Now that I'm neither religious nor Republican, I'm not sure how people decide to support any given candidate, especially when parts of their ideology may conflict. For example: if you love candidate A's positions on domestic policy, but hate their foreign policy, do they still get your vote? Or substitute any set of issues you want, the question remains: in the absence of a perfect candidate for you, how do you go about prioritizing the issues so you come up with an acceptable candidate (or not) to vote for?

To me, I'm really struggling with this issue. I've spent the last 10 or so years throwing out or otherwise evaluating the old heuristics I'd use. Heuristics are especially useful or especially misleading when it comes to elections. For example- Mike Huckabee is touting his Christianity. For many people, this provides a useful way to shortcut all of his position issues and just give them a "yes" or "no" for supporting him. Heuristics are mental shortcuts based on past experience. So, if you are a Christian, this label attached to Huckabee is a shortcut way of expressing that he probably shares your values on issues such as abortion, evolution, science policy, stem cells, gay rights, etc.... You don't (mentally) need to take the time to actually evaluate his positions on each of these issues. It works the same way for me when I go to evaluate Mike Huckabee, except those shortcuts all lead to a "no" answer when I question whether our values are similar. For other Christians, Mitt Romney's Mormonism might be another heuristic for "no", even though they would probably agree on all of the issues. This is why I say they can be especially misleading.

These heuristics are great once the nominating stage of the race is over with and the parties have chosen their candidates. Most people just use their "party" heuristic at this point and vote for the person that the party as selected to represent them. However, at the nominating stage, one has to look a little bit deeper to find one's cues.

So here's where I stand: I'm 29 years old, white, middle-class, atheist, and a libertarian. I don't know much about how our foreign policy ought to look, I just know it's not working now. I'm not sure if non-intervention (a la Ron Paul) would be salvation or disaster. All of this means that there's no obvious candidate that I should support. Fiscally, I probably should side with a Republican candidate. Socially, probably a Democrat. Foreign policy gets a big "?". So how do I prioritize these? I think all of these issues are important-- if not for me personally, then for the country as a whole. Should I vote strictly my interests? Should I vote for the best interest of the country? How do I weigh these if they diverge? I was leaning towards Ron Paul lately, until I read this blog post at Daylight Atheism. So I think where I'm left is looking for Giuliani. We probably agree on economic policy, he's pretty liberal on social issues (gay rights, etc...) and I don't think he's looking to push his religion down anyone's throats. I don't plan on traveling out of the country any time soon, I don't know anyone that lives out of the country, and I don't know anyone in the military, so do I completely ignore foreign policy? That doesn't seem right, but what am I to do?

If you have any input, feel free to leave it in the comments. How are you deciding? What factors are the biggest for you?

It's a "Brave New World", Mr. Bush

Think Progress » Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ Convinced Bush To Ban Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Isn't that neat? You can read the whole story above, but it's neatly encapsulated in the hyperlink.
The dystopian novel "Brave New World" had Bush freaking out over the possibilities that humans would one day be bred in hatcheries if the government supported stem-cell research. In a stunning stroke of political mastery, Bush angered both sides of the debate by refusing government funding for new stem cell lines while not banning stem cell research entirely. Feel free to read the whole article by Jay Lefkowitz (a presidential advisor), it really is an interesting scoop on how this president came to his decision.

As a first step, Bush asked me to prepare a set of background reading materials on the scientific aspects of stem-cell research. He also asked for a summary of the relevant laws of other countries, and a description of what the world’s leading religions had to say on the issue. Once I began turning in my memos, a day rarely passed when he did not call with a follow-up request or a question about something he had read. It was clear that in addition to the material I submitted, he was also finding other things to read and was talking about stem cells with friends and intimates.

One morning at 6:30, my wife summoned me from the shower to answer a call from the White House; the President had been speaking about the issue the night before with a friend and had a barrage of questions he wanted me to answer or look into immediately. At a ceremony in the Rose Garden, Bush saw a physician he knew and invited him back to the Oval Office where they spent fifteen minutes discussing stem cells. During a birthday party for a member of the White House medical unit, the President asked each of the doctors present to set forth his own position. At a gathering with medical groups and doctors to discuss the pending Patients’ Bill of Rights, he queried each physician about the scientific potential of stem-cell research, the ethical quandaries involved, and what the best public policy would be.

Bush also discussed the issue on many occasions with individual members of Congress, and spoke about it to nearly all the members of his Cabinet. (After one Cabinet meeting, Secretary of State Colin Powell followed him into the Oval Office to make sure Bush was aware of his views.) Nor did he confine himself to the precincts of the White House or of Washington. In May, traveling to Notre Dame to give the commencement speech, he spoke with the university’s president, Father Edward Malloy, and a number of scientists on the faculty. The next day, at Yale, he sat down with Harold Varmus, who had served under Clinton as director of the NIH and was the president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Hmmmm, so I guess if you were anywhere within 300 miles of George W. Bush during this time, you probably had to fill out a survey on what you thought he should do. Great. Let's just have the Gallup organization serve a term as leader of the free world.
Mr. Lefkowitz makes it clear where he stands looking back on the issue:

In the coming decades, scientific advances will compel Presidents and politicians to confront vexing choices on subjects that were once solely the province of dystopian science fiction: human cloning, fetal farming, human-animal hybrid embryos, and situations as yet unimagined and unimaginable. If we are to benefit from the great promise of the age of biotechnology while preventing grave ethical abuses, we can only hope that future Presidents will be guided by the same seriousness with which George W. Bush pursued the question of stem-cell research, as well as by his stout refusal to be seduced by the siren song of political expediency. [emphasis mine]

I will be the first to agree that because science can do something, does not mean that it should do something. However, I think the point of view advocated above is so hysterical, so over the top, that it is almost humorous. Or it would be if it weren't the point of view shared by so many stem-cell research opponents. It's going to be a while before GoatBoy becomes palatable. Hopefully never. However, if you are opposed to these sorts of things, then you have already missed the boat. Sundry animals and their parts have been used for years to prolong human life, and you can't stuff that genie back in the bottle. From new heart valves to pig insulin, the easiest way to save human life is to rig up our own solutions until science produces something better. There sure doesn't appear to have been any intelligent design from the start.
It's also worth remembering that the stem cell debate is not the same as the cloning debate and neither is the same as the xenotransplantation debate. There are well-reasoned arguments on both sides, but I don't believe 1930's fiction should serve as the deciding factor when it comes to national science policy.

Survey: Most Americans Believe in Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ | Christianpost.com

Survey: Most Americans Believe in Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ | Christianpost.com

I'm pretty sure that sampling 1,005 adults by a "christian polling organization" is going to return these kinds of results, but here goes. Highlights:

• Respondents were apparently asked whether they believed that the following stories were "factually accurate" or "meant to teach principles"
• Virgin-birth of Christ
• Christ turning water into wine
• Christ feeding the multitudes with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish
• Noah's ark & the flood
• Serpent (devil) tempting Eve to eat the forbidden fruit
• Samson's strength being derived from his hair & loss of strength after Delilah cut it.

Once again, I am nearly speechless. As I was explaining here, if you are a biblical literalist, we don't really have anything to discuss. It takes such a willful disregard for facts, biology, even the laws of physics as we know them, that a discussion between us is bound to be unproductive. I think I could almost grant you that biblical stories are meant to be allegorical and a way to teach morality if it weren't for all the incest, genocide, torture, slavery, murder, etc... in the "good book".
However, if there is truly 75% of the American population that literally believes that Jeebus was born from a virgin I might really have to abandon this country. I'm moving to Norway. Luckily, I'm quite certain that the Christian anti-science bias and ignorance of scientific method extends to the area of statistical analysis and polling science.